The studio building has a pretty awesome sign out front:
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Maine End of the Zone
- Thread starter Patrick 29582
- Start date
I've noticed that creativity rules at the Stephen King stations. You have got to check out the art work on the WZON website!
Well, maybe this is why Bangor's top FM station and an AM station that is tied for the top AM outlet couldn't make money. I'm sure a wiser owner could make WKIT and WZON profitable.
I've heard of AM stations with poor signals handing in their licenses or ones whose transmitter sites were more valuable than the station itself. But I haven't heard of a full power FM station that's #1 in its market going dark. Or a 5000 watt AM station low on the dial. It only has one tower so the land it sits on can't be worth that much.
Should we thank King for carrying these stations for years with no profit? Or blame him for throwing up his hands and saying, I'm just gonna hand in the licenses. I'm not even gonna try to hand them off, even at a bargain price.
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I think we thank King for all the jobs he supported for his stations.
I find it difficult to believe he will simply hand in the licenses. They have value, at least the FMs. They're worth money and I don't see him throwing money away. Bangor is over-radioed but surely someone can work a deal for the FMs. I suspect the stations will simply go silent.
I find it difficult to believe he will simply hand in the licenses. They have value, at least the FMs. They're worth money and I don't see him throwing money away. Bangor is over-radioed but surely someone can work a deal for the FMs. I suspect the stations will simply go silent.
What is the economic situation in Bangor? Have all the local stores been plowed under by Walmart and Amazon, neither of which do any radio advertising? Did King get any of those O'Reilly, AutoZone, Progressive and Geico bulk buys to at least provide a trickle of revenue in the absence of local advertisers? Who advertises on the Bangor stations that are keeping their heads above water, and why aren't they advertising on King's stations?
Bangor is just small, and very old.
According to the Chamber of Commerce there, the labor force was only 71,645 persons in the metro area in October. Unemployment is below 3% and wages are reasonable.
One big challenge for the economy there is a old age. The median resident is 43 years old, which is 5 years older than the US as a whole (but younger than Maine as a whole). That drives the economy, with 4 of the 8 largest employers being hospital systems. Some other large employers are a college, Hanaford, Walmart, & Lowes.
Honestly, Bangor does not profile so differently from other smaller markets like Duluth or Terre Haute (which are near Bangor in the Nielsen market size) and also older than the US median.
I think these stations were not just a business but a fun hobby and vanity project for Stephen King. I seem to recall at one point hearing that the Rock station was for Stephen and the Triple-A was for his wife Tabitha.
The employees should thank him for that. The residents of Bangor should thank him for giving them some great radio and outsized community spirit.
Did he say that? I thought he just said he was shutting them down at the end of this month. That doesn't mean he's handing in the licenses or not accepting offers, unless I missed that part.
There are a lot of radio stations for such a small, isolated market. And I have to say it's been such a rare, interesting market for decades with King's unique stations and at least three really delightful college & community non-comms there for even more flavor. Plus WTOS, which is now a shell of its former self but it's still an unusually deep and hard rocking active rock format with a killer signal with its tower on top of Sugarloaf mountain that rimshots Bangor.
What I'm reminded of is when a radio station was a trusted source of music, which in some places it still is. This is one example. Everyone knows who owns this station, and they trust his music choices. They might sit through music they might NOT sit through if it was chosen by someone else. There was a time when the same thing happened at KROQ and WMMS and a few other stations like that.
I seem to recall a guy had three AMs. one in Bangor, maybe 2. It seems conservative talk on one and I think Sportstalk on the second. The third station was not too distant. All the stations were 1kw. and mid to high on the dial fulltime signals. If I recall correctly, the owner billed about $4,000 a month from the three with the best (in Bangor) billing about $1,600 a month. Seems this was a decade or so ago.
That's the weirdest set up in 2024. Towers are in Veazie just north. Three AMs.. wow.
Here's something interesting. The Portland Press Herald posted the "Stephen King shuts down his three radio stations" story on the Obituary page in the December 3rd issue.
Maine Public Classical is already on in Bangor area on translator at 106.1; and also within decent reception of WBQE 93.7 Milbridge.
I saw in another thread that King apparently is not interested in offers for his stations; he just wants to leave the business and turn in the licenses. All three stations will probably wind up in the hands of Godcasters since there's not enough of a Black or Hispanic population in Bangor to attract commercial operators. A shame if true, but King is a wealthy man and it's his right to dispose of his stations any way he wants to.
If King surrenders the licenses, 620 goes away for good, barring the very unlikely event of an FCC application window for new AM stations.
The 100.3 and 103.1 allocations would return to the table of allocations to be put up for auction at some point in the future, but would likely be dark for several years in the meantime.
The 98.3 translator would also go away. In a future translator window, someone could file for the frequency again, or an existing translator could modify to use the frequency in the meantime.
Can you link the thread? It seems like an odd decision. Even for a wealthy man, the FM stations are still worth something.
If this is really about King wanting to “get his business affairs in better order,” then the proceeds of a sale would be added to the value of his estate. The only reason I can imagine for him not to consider offers is if he wants so much to be remembered for what those radio stations were that he doesn't want to see them turned into something else once he leaves. Entirely possible, I suppose, but seems a little selfish if that's really the case.
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Apology necessary here. I apparently had Gregg's "throw up his hands" post earlier in this thread in the back of my mind, not a separate thread. There is nothing in any of the non-paywalled stories posted in this thread that indicates King will be turning in the licenses, just that the transmitters will be going silent at the end of the year. If Gregg or anyone else can confirm (with a link) King's exact intentions, it would be appreciated.
Now comes the news that WKIT is being acquired by a pair of Bangor businessmen, one of whom is a longtime air personality in the market. "The voices you love are staying right here." I'm sure this is the only way King would have it.
radioinsight.com
Local Group Formed To Acquire WKIT
With Stephen King set to shutdown his three stations in Bangor ME at the end of the month, a pair
radioinsight.com
Unfortunately, it looks like based on the article, WZON/WZLO are still signing off. Not surprising…I’m sure those two were propped up for years by WKIT.Now comes the news that WKIT is being acquired by a pair of Bangor businessmen, one of whom is a longtime air personality in the market. "The voices you love are staying right here." I'm sure this is the only way King would have it.
Local Group Formed To Acquire WKIT
With Stephen King set to shutdown his three stations in Bangor ME at the end of the month, a pair
I wonder if any of the IP of WKIT will transfer to the new owners? I suppose it isn’t fair to them to continue calling it “Stephen King’s Rock Station”
WKIT is Stephen King's crown jewel of a radio station with a good signal and #1 ratings position. The other two have less desirable signals and niche formats with low ratings.
I think you are right that WKIT has been propping up the other two stations. King probably enjoyed running them despite the financial losses that he could easily absorb, but it would make no sense for the new owners to take on that burden since they will have to make it a profitable venture. I suppose there's still a chance WZON and/or WZLO could still be sold if the right buyer were to come along.
I also wondered about the IP question. Does Stephen King want to keep his name attached to WKIT for the sake of his legacy as long as the format remains in place? My guess is that it will become something like "Bangor's Rock Station" but I guess we'll find out once the new owner takes over.
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WZLO fits a niche market. It's the only AAA in the area, but it's adult alternative, which is an interesting format, but isn't exactly a ratings and money maker. The Bangor translator helped. WZON was just running off it's heritage.
WZLO/WZON was also where a lot of the debt was. I think WKIT can pay for itself, which explains why the new owners are only interested in WKIT. They may not have the cash to handle the additional expenses.
Imaging and operational wise it'll be interesting. King didn't install the WKIT call letters, he just made the station what it is today. John Pineau was the one who changed the calls when he bought the station in the late 80s.